Pre-conscription Training and Activities of Military Sports Committees in the Crimea during the World War I

Abstract

The role of Military Sports Committees in the pre-conscription training of young people of the Crimea during the World War I is considered. It is established that the Military Sports Committees organized in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Feodosia cities, have made a significant contribution to the organization of pre-conscription training of young people and have established close ties with existing city sports societies and men’s educational institutions. The committees included heads of educational institutions, representatives of the civil and military administration of the Crimean Peninsula and persons actively assisting the committee in solving its tasks. For the purpose of pre-conscription training, teams of pre-conscripts were formed under the guidance of experienced instructors-officers, sports competitions were organized, the construction of sports facilities was initiated, physical education and military-physical training of high school students of gymnasiums and colleges of the Crimea were activated. The Military Sports Committees worked together with the Sevastopol Сlub of Sports Enthusiasts, the Simferopol Society for the Promotion of Physical Development and Sports, school sports clubs of Crimean cities gymnasiums and colleges. As a result to the efforts of the Committee, sports such as rowing, swimming, athletics, cycling, horse riding, football have been further developed on the Crimean Peninsula. The Committees provided material and methodological assistance to educational institutions in conducting classes with high school students in gymnastics, military formation and shooting. The political events connected with the February Revolution at the beginning of 1917 practically stopped the activities of Military Sports Committees and stopped the work on military physical training of young people in the Crimea, however, the accumulated practical experience formed the basis for the further development of the pre-conscription training system already in Soviet times.